I kind of hate having to do all the marketing for myself. I wish it was as easy as just telling people to like me and my stuff, but it totally isn't. I'm hoping to get the book picked up by a publisher this year, but I almost don't want to believe it might happen.

Ok, enough negativity for today lol, I got a bit of work done on Chased yesterday. I hadn't worked on it in so long, I actually had to go back and re read some of what I had written before. I posted a new excerpt for it on my author page, go and check it out.

http://jessicagibson.weebly.com/books.html

I decided to put up the revamped version of Marked for 2 days on Amazon as well. I didn't get much interest from Smashwords, so I figured I'd give Amazon a go. I'm toying with the idea of making it free for the 2 days, but I'm not sure yet.

I was very productive today, I went grocery shopping, and I did some hair. Now, the little monster is asleep, and the house is blissfully quiet. I'm maybe, probably, possibly, going to do some writing, I think I may be in a funk. I've been focusing so much of my mental energy on getting Marked rewritten, and edited, and now possibly get picked up by a publisher. I don't know if I have any excess brain power to devote to the new book lol. What I will say though, is that I love the story so far. The characters are kind of awesome if I do say so myself(nothing like a little shameful back patting)
The one positive side of not writing so much is that I've been reading a lot. I find that its really hard to read while I'm writing my books. I'm always so afraid of somehow adding something from what I'm reading into my book, so I just don't read. There are so many books that I have on my to read list, I may never actually write anything lol.

I posted a revamped version of Marked on Smashwords for today only. It's my submission version, and it's going to go to my editor one more time before I submit to my publisher. I wanted everyone to get a chance to read it, it's kind of awesome :) I've got it for .99, so it's a great buy.....everyone go get it.

I hope you all had a great Christmas, I know I did. I enjoyed spending time with all of my family. My little monster got a bunch of really cool stuff, I think his favorite might be his new tricycle though. When he got up today, he ran right to it and pedaled around the living room. I'm looking forward to laying around the house with my husband the rest of today, and then putting the house back together tomorrow. Currently, it looks like a bomb went off lol, looks like I'll be a busy lady tomorrow.

I'm back, and not as rested and relaxed as I would have liked to be. I have way too much to do in the next 2 days before all of the Christmas festivities begin. Plus I get to add in a day at work on Saturday before rushing over to my parent's house for Christmas Eve dinner. I'm hoping to get some writing done next week since this week is totally shot lol.

I did have some fun on the mini vacation though. We played in the snow which is a novel experience for us. The munchkin liked it for all of 10 minutes and then he got cold, so daddy took him to the car and I played with my friends kids. We made a snowman, my first ever snowman in all of my 29 years, and we sledded down some fun hills. All and all, it was a nice day in the snow with some great friends.

Getting ready for a mini vacation with some friends.....so not even slightly ready lol. We leave in a few hours, and I'm still trying to pack us up. December has been a crappy month for my family, it seems like one thing after another keeps happening. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to relax and enjoy myself while we're away. Hope everyone has a good few days, be back by the end of the week.

My life is slowly returning to normal after 3 weeks of chaos. The house still needs some work, but it's getting there. I'm getting ready for a little vacation to the mountains next week, it should be fun to frolic in the snow. As of right now, I have only purchased 1 of the billion Christmas gifts I need to get, looks like next week is going to be a crazy one.

Hopefully going over to my sister in law's house tomorrow to take some pictures of our kids for Christmas. I'm also hoping to get some done of myself so I can use them on my website. I was trying to find some of just me, and I literally have none lol. I'm excited to see how cute the kids look in their Christmas outfits :)

So I have some time today, the monster just went down for a nap. My dilemma is this, do I write some more of book 2, or do I read? I have a book I'm beta reading for someone, plus 2 new books I just was gifted last night. I think both would be constructive, hhhmmmmm......

I think writing is going to win out, I have some ideas on the story line, so I'll strike while the iron is hot. Plus, my house sounds like an airport due to crazy fans and a dehumidifier. Hopefully those will get to leave tomorrow and my house can resume it's normal noises.

Finally felt creative enough to write today. It feels like its been an eternity since I've written anything new. With the rewrite, then editing, plus beta reading for a few author friends, I just haven't had any time. I didn't write much, but I'm really happy with what I did write.

I'm finally rejoining the world of the living after 6 days of awfulness. On Friday, our water heater decided to spring a leak, which wouldn't have been a big deal if the drainage pipe wasn't clogged due to faulty stuccoing. So, my poor downstairs neighbors got their house flooded. Then only good thing about everything that happened is that we don't have to pay for any of the damage. Our HOA is responsible since they hired the stucco company who thought it was a good idea to plug up a drainage pipe. Saturday night I ended up at urgent care because of the stomach flu, I had to get an i.v. because I was severely dehydrated. I cannot wait until the fans are out of my house and the dehumidifier is gone, so I can finally put things back together.

On a lighter note, my guest post went live on Gravetells.com, very excited about that. Everyone should go and check it out. Here's the link.
http://gravetells.com/2011/12/10/guest-post-jessica-gibson-author-of-marked-on-playing-dress-up-with-words/

Spending some time today working on a website for myself. I'm so not computer savvy, so it's taking me a lot longer to do then I'd really like. My husband laughed when I told him all the stuff I've been doing since he's been away, he said he was apparently holding me back lol. I think its more that I have a ton of time when my son goes to sleep to do self promotion. I wish all I had to do as an author was write, all of the other stuff that goes along with being an author just sucks.

I went through all of the edits that my friend sent me for my book, it pretty much took all day yesterday, and most of this morning to do. Now, I'm waiting for her to go back over it, and then it will hopefully be closer to sending in to be edited. In between working on my stuff, I'm beta reading a book for another friend. I'm a busy lady lol, but I'm enjoying it.

Finding Alice by Andrea DiGiglio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book, and I struck gold. There was nothing about this book that I didn't like. The story sucked me in from the get go, I literally read the entire thing in about a day. I couldn't put it down. I grew to love the main character like she was my best friend. I had chills the whole last scene in the book, it was really phenomenal. I cannot wait until this book comes out so I can recommend it to everyone I know. If you buy this book, you won't be disappointed.



View all my reviews

I have my guest post on GraveTells.com this week, I'm so excited for it. I'm just about finished writing it, it was a little nerve wracking for me lol. It's been so hard to be productive, the last 7 days have been awful. First I was sick, now my little guys is, and my husband is away on business, so I've been dealing with it alone. I have such a respect for single parent's and military wives now. It's only been a week, and I want to die lol. The only nice part of him being sick is that he wants to be cuddly with me.

I want to be done with editing and re editing, the writing is definitely the easy part. I've got a few more passes before I'll be ready to send it to the editor I think. One of my friends is looking over it now, and I think tomorrow she'll be done so I can start correcting. Hopefully I'll still have hair, and sanity by the time everything is finished.

The new cover is up and live which is very exciting. I'm still in the editing process with Marked, but it's going really well. I've had some awesome ladies read through it for me to give me feedback. I've also had the privilege of reading a book by the amazingly talented Andrea Digiglio, I think she's my writing soul mate. The book was phenomenal, I can't wait for it to be published so I can recommend it to everyone I know. I know that I can expect big things from her, she's definitely one to watch.

I've been thinking a lot about the direction my life has taken this year. I'm so incredibly lucky to be married to an amazing man who encourages me to follow my dreams. I have an amazing little boy who surprises me daily with how smart he is. And finally, I have an incredible family that includes but is not limited to those who share my last name. A big thanks to everyone who has made my life better by just knowing you. (That means you H.P.'s writing group) I'm so excited to see what 2012 has in store for me, and for Jilly.

Here is a small taste of what the new cover of Marked is going to look like. I'm so excited with how it turned out. Can't wait for the re release!!

Book Sake is having a huge giveaway. Here is the details taken directly from their page

It's time for our big follower giveaway. Thanks to all of you we've hit 1100 followers. To show our undying appreciation for you we are giving away a ton of books. This time around we have an author helping us out. The fabulous Julie Anne Peters is donating a bunch of books that you all are going to love! Seriously, a bunch. We are going to have 15 winners (minimum) for this contest!

You must be a follower to enter, so if you aren't already you can click here to FOLLOW. You can get a lot of extra entries by following us and Julie on Twitter and Facebook, Tweeting about the contest, making a post about it on your blog if you have one, or putting our button on your blog.

On to the prizes! Author Julie Anne Peters has offered up this wonderful set of books. Not just one set of books, but 10 sets!!! 10 winner's will get their own set of 5 titles from Julie! I know, amazing right!


Pretend You Love Me
Luna
She Loves You, She Loves You Not...
Rage: A Love Story
By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

5 more winners will have their choice of 1 of the books below.



The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins
On The Volcano by James Nelson (ARC)
My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody(ARC)
Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm? by Perry Romanowski
King's Wrath by Fiona Mcintosh
I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg
Dracula In Love by Karen Essex
The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge by Patricia Duncker
TimeRiders: Day of the Predator Alex Scarrow (ARC)
The Orphan of Awkward Falls by Keith Graves (ARC)

Can you win a set of Julie's books and a book from us too? Sure, why not?!?!?

Big things are happening, I think I may have found an editor I like. Based on the sample she did for me, I'm very happy. Now, I just need to wait for me beta readers to finish and give me their feedback. I also saw a bit of what the new cover is going to look like. It looked so good, very cute and fun.

I recently joined a writer's group on facebook called H.P.'s Online Writer's club. I have met so many amazing author's on there in the few weeks since I've joined. I really feel like they've made me a better author, reading their work has helped me with mine. Plus, they're all super helpful. Liz Shulte helped me rewrite my blurb last night, it ended up being amazing. I had hated my first one since I wrote it, every time I saw it I cringed lol. I really think it's going to help with sales, it's more intriguing then the first one.

This has been a way gushy post, but I'm super excited about everything that's coming up. My guest post on GraveTells.com is going to be on the 10th. I've been working a lot on it, so hopefully it will be ready by the 6th. I'm hoping to get some pictures taken a few days before the 6th so I can have my press packet all ready. I feel like a grown up getting all this stuff together lol.